Informational Interview

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Attached are the instructions - I have attached the first part (Interview with a small business). Financial report needs to be added to the attached report.

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Assignment 1: Information Interview ­ Submit Files Submission Folder Assignment 1: Information Interview Instructions Informational Interview (20%) The information Interviews = two separate interviews: the first involves meeting and interviewing an entrepreneur or business owner to gather information as to their business experience, strategy, and operations. The second consists of interviewing a commercial banker or other financial professional, to obtain information as to the bank loan requirement and approval process, and/or investment requirements and strategy, as well as critical factors needed for a banker or investor positive business plan. You should not wait until the due date to prepare, as meetings may be difficult to arrange at short notice. While face­to­face interviews are preferable, if your work schedule inhibits such preparation, you may conduct the interviews by telephone or via online/e­mail format. Required Elements to include in the Informational Interview Write Up: Students are responsible for developing questions that will garner the responses necessary to address the key elements of the assignment. Include all of the following elements in your interview report: Provide a brief description of the business which includes the business form the nature of the business, how many years in business, and whether the business is local in nature, national, or international in scope; Why did the person decide to go into business, and what was the biggest obstacle they had to overcome in the early stages of the business; Did the owner develop a Business Plan before starting the business, why or why not; Discuss what makes the business unique and different from its competition and what is its value proposition; Does the company have a clearly defined strategy, what do you believe it is; Discuss the owners marketing and sales strategy for gaining and maintaining new business opportunities; What core business functions if any did the business decide to outsource and why; Discuss the hiring process and the core values that have been established for the organization; Discuss the financial management tools and metrics that the business owner depends on too manage growth and profitability; Discuss keys to success, from the owner's perspective; What the person would do differently if he/she had it to do all over again. Critically assess the current status of the business based on concepts presented in class. What would you say is the future for this business? Would you invest in this business? Why or why not? Interview questions must be included as an addendum to the assignment; however, these should not be counted toward the length requirement of the paper. For the financial report, consisting of an interview with a commercial banker, investor, or financial professional, the content should include discussing the loan origination and approval process if interviewing a banker, the investor analysis, decision making, and due diligence process if interviewing an investor or financial professional, For either banker or investor, discuss the importance of and key material sections of the business plan for reaching an approval decision. Required Formatting of Informational Interview Report: This report should be double spaced, 12­point font, and three to five pages in length excluding the title page and reference page; Title page; Introductory paragraph and a summary paragraph; Use headings; Write in the third person; Use APA formatting for in­text citations and a reference page. You are expected to paraphrase and not use quotes. Deductions will be taken when quotes are used and found to be unnecessary; Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder. Hide Rubrics Rubric Name: Interview w/Entrepreneur (20%) Criteria Critical Thinking/Reasoning Outstanding Superior Good Substandard Failure 5 points 4.25 points 3.75 points 3.25 points 2.75 points shows occasional critical thinking; questions & shows little critical thinking, lacks critical thinking demonstrates a high shows good critical thinking; degree of critical accurately interprets most thinking, is questions & material; material is at times consistent in usually identifies relevant accurately interpreted; accurately arguments/reasoning/claims; arguments/reasoning/claims interpreting offers good analysis & are occasionally explained; questions & evaluation with fairly sound offers fair analysis & material; provides conclusions evaluation with a conclusion solid assumptions, reasoning & claims; thorough analysis & evaluation with sound conclusions Application of Concepts/Development Development of Interview Questions Attention to Instructions Clarity; including grammar Adherence to APA (6th ed.) Overall Score 5 points 4.25 points arguments or arguments or positions are positions are well­ mostly supported by supported with evidence from the readings evidence from the and course content; ideas readings/experience; presented demonstrate ideas go beyond the student’s understanding of course material and the material and concepts recognize implication and extensions of the material and concepts 4 points 3.4 points 3.75 points demonstrated full understanding of requirements; responded to each aspect of assignment 2.55 points 3.25 points arguments are more often arguments are based on opinion or unclear frequently illogical views than on position and grounded in the readings of unsubstantiated; material or external sources student may of material resort to ad hominem attacks on the author instead of making meaningful application of the material 3 points questions are logical questions are somewhat questions demonstrate a and effective; logical but slightly limiting; degree of logic but are very enables writer to enables writer to achieve a limiting; hinders writers fully understand the degree of understanding but ability to fully understand facets of the a key facet of the business the nature of the business entrepreneur's job or responsibility of the and the scope of the and the skill sets entrepreneur is missing entrepreneur responsibilities involved in carrying out the day to day responsibilities of the business 3 points misinterprets consistently offers questions or biased material; ignores interpretations; or superficially ignores or evaluates; superficially justifies little and evaluates; argues seldom explains using poor reasoning; draws reasoning, and/or unwarranted unwarranted conclusions claims 2.25 points 2.6 points 2.75 points arguments lack meaningful explanation or support of ideas 2.2 points some questions questions are are appropriate irrelevant and fail but key points are to draw essential missing; enables information writer to understand either the facets of the business or the scope of the entrepreneur's responsibilities but not both 1.95 points demonstrated understanding demonstrated some failed to show a of requirements; missed one understanding of firm minor aspect of assignment requirements; missed a key understanding of element or two minor requirement; aspects of assignment missed two key elements or several minor aspects of assignment 1.65 points did not demonstrate understanding of assignment requirements 2 points 1.7 points 1.5 points 1.3 points 1.1 points writing is clear and easy to follow; grammar and spelling are all correct; formatting gives a professional look and adds to readability most ideas are presented clearly; occasional spelling and/or grammar issues wordy; some points require rereading to understand fully; more than an occasional spelling and/or grammar unclear and difficult to understand; frequent spelling and grammar issues largely incomprehensible writing/poorly written in terms of mechanics and structure 1 point 0.85 points 0.75 points 0.65 points 0.55 points no APA style errors Outstanding 18 or more attempts in­text citation and attempts in­text citation and attempts either no attempt at APA reference list but 1 or 2 APA reference list; APA style in­text citation or style style errors are present errors are present; reference list but inconsistencies in citation omits the other usage can be found throughout the document Superior 16 or more Good 14 or more Substandard 12 or more Failure 0 or more Running head: INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW Informational Interview Student’s Name Number Course Professor Date 1 INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW 2 Informational Interview Informational interviews are critical towards the collection of information. In this particular case, an interview was conducted on a business which mainly deals with food stuffs. The business where the interview was conducted is a partnership that is involved in the sales and distribution of food products. The business acquires its products directly from farmers and supplies the products to some of its shops and also to some other suppliers who help them with the sales and distribution. The business has been in operation for the last three years and it has a wide local network. Food Heaven as it is referred to has 5 stores in the whole country. However, these stores are not enough to supply all the products that it gets from the farmers. Therefore, this is the reason as to why it ends up getting some of its supply work done by some other suppliers and distributors. It can be said that the business has a national face since the stores it owns are spread all over the country. Nonetheless, the business is focused to grow and has plans to start processing foods and selling them to international markets where it has determined there is demand for certain food products. According to the CEO of Food Heaven, the decision to enter into business was a progressive one which was major influenced by his family which owns some businesses. He noted the good returns that they were making and decided that he could do the same with his life. However, he decided to take a different route since his family was involved in assembly of motorcycles while he decided to enter into the food market. The biggest obstacle that the person faced was the lack of capital in the first place as they were starting the business. However, they were able to overcome this through financing which they acquired through the banks. INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW 3 Interestingly, when the owner was starting the business, they never develop a business plan. The reason why they never did so was because they did not understand the importance of the business plan in the first place. However, the owner confesses that as he was going about his business after some months, he noted that things were not working out well so he had to sit back and plan for the future of the business. That is when he did the business plan. There are certain aspects of his business that makes it unique when compared to his competitors. Firstly, the business only supplies naturally grown foods. Although there are others food products suppliers in the market who do the same, not many of them have the mechanism to ascertain that the foods are grown naturally. In Food Heaven, there are laboratory facilities and specialists who have been tasked with the sole responsibility of ascertaining the quality of the food products to determine whether they have been grown naturally or not. This is quite unique and assures the clients of the quality of the products. Another unique aspect of the business is that they also offer personalized delivery services of these products straight from the farms to the clients. This allows the clients to acquire very fresh products. The company does have a very clear objective which is to provide healthy naturally grown foods when still fresh. The clarity is laid out in how it is carrying out its current operations. The company does have mechanisms that enable it to accomplish this tasks this far. However, the CEO was open and he noted that they were experiencing challenges with the distribution network in terms of capacity. As such, they had to subcontract some distribution duties to other companies. This in the long run has been affecting their cost of doing business and the product’s process. However, he noted that they are working on how to better the situation. The business was outsourcing the supplies business function to some extent. INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW 4 The hiring process at the business is quite interesting. The management of the business does not hire any personnel based on a one time off interview session. What they do is that they conduct an interview and then they select a few successful candidates and employ them on a two months paid for probation period. During this period, the candidates are analyzed and monitored and even tested to determine how they would fare in the business. Once they pass these tests, they get to be permanently employed. To manage the growth and profitability of the business, the CEO does use financial smart assistants and software which offer the best analysis of data and provide predictions on future trends based on this data. He also seeks support and advice from the banking sector who advise him on financial matters. From the owner’s perspective, the key to success in business if to be sharp and focused on the business and to only work towards set goals and visions. In this context, he noted that he started off without a clear plan but due to shear focus and determination, he was able to correct that error and things did work out well in the long-run. The business owner stated that if he was to start all over again, he would have started the business with a clear business plan that had been properly researched. He gave the reason for this opinion to be that if he had such a plan at the start, he would have been more focused and would have made much more progress than he has now. Currently, the business is at a boom where there is no much competition and other external and internal forces that are inhibiting its growth. The market is large enough and it has not exhausted its potential yet. The demand for the product is more than the business can supply and therefore there is surplus demand which encourages the business to increase prices and make more money. However, it is important to note that there is an effect on the supply and demand curve when the prices are increased due to high demand and INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW 5 surplus demand (Roberts & Schlenkera, 013). Often, this will lead to decreased demand and the supplier will end up lowering the prices again in order to keep the clients. In consideration of the current state that the business is in I would definitely invest in the business. Chances are quite high that the business will develop into a major corporation since in the world right now people are searching for naturally grown food products. In this context, I would say that the future of this business is quite promising. INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW 6 References Roberts, M. J., & Schlenkera, W. (2013). Identifying supply and demand elasticities of agricultural commodities: Implications for the US ethanol mandate. The American Economic Review, 103(6), 2265-2295. INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW 7 Interview Questions a. What is the business name? b. Who are you to the business? c. How long have you been in business? d. Describe your business (products, jurisdiction, employees, client-base, etc.)? e. Are you a local, international or national business? f. Why did you decide to do this business? g. Is your business unique? Describe why. h. What is your business strategy? i. What is your sales and marketing strategy? j. What is the hiring process at your business? k. What are the core values of your business? l. Which financial management tools do you use in your business? m. What would you do differently if you were given a chance to start all over again? n. What would you state to be the key to success in the business context? Running head: INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW Informational Interview Student’s Name Number Course Professor Date 1 INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW 2 Informational Interview Informational interviews are critical towards the collection of information. In this particular case, an interview was conducted on a business which mainly deals with food stuffs. The business where the interview was conducted is a partnership that is involved in the sales and distribution of food products. The business acquires its products directly from farmers and supplies the products to some of its shops and also to some other suppliers who help them with the sales and distribution. The business has been in operation for the last three years and it has a wide local network. Food Heaven as it is referred to has 5 stores in the whole country. However, these stores are not enough to supply all the products that it gets from the farmers. Therefore, this is the reason as to why it ends up getting some of its supply work done by some other suppliers and distributors. It can be said that the business has a national face since the stores it owns are spread all over the country. Nonetheless, the business is focused to grow and has plans to start processing foods and selling them to international markets where it has determined there is demand for certain food products. According to the CEO of Food Heaven, the decision to enter into business was a progressive one which was major influenced by his family which owns some businesses. He noted the good returns that they were making and decided that he could do the same with his life. However, he decided to take a different route since his family was involved in assembly of motorcycles while he decided to enter into the food market. The biggest obstacle that the person faced was the lack of capital in the first place as they were starting the business. However, they were able to overcome this through financing which they acquired through the banks. INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW 3 Interestingly, when the owner was starting the business, they never develop a business plan. The reason why they never did so was because they did not understand the importance of the business plan in the first place. However, the owner confesses that as he was going about his business after some months, he noted that things were not working out well so he had to sit back and plan for the future of the business. That is when he did the business plan. There are certain aspects of his business that makes it unique when compared to his competitors. Firstly, the business only supplies naturally grown foods. Although there are others food products suppliers in the market who do the same, not many of them have the mechanism to ascertain that the foods are grown naturally. In Food Heaven, there are laboratory facilities and specialists who have been tasked with the sole responsibility of ascertaining the quality of the food products to determine whether they have been grown naturally or not. This is quite unique and assures the clients of the quality of the products. Another unique aspect of the business is that they also offer personalized delivery services of these products straight from the farms to the clients. This allows the clients to acquire very fresh products. The company does have a very clear objective which is to provide healthy naturally grown foods when still fresh. The clarity is laid out in how it is carrying out its current operations. The company does have mechanisms that enable it to accomplish this tasks this far. However, the CEO was open and he noted that they were experiencing challenges with the distribution network in terms of capacity. As such, they had to subcontract some distribution duties to other companies. This in the long run has been affecting their cost of doing business and the product’s process. However, he noted that they are working on how to better the situation. The business was outsourcing the supplies business function to some extent. INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW 4 The hiring process at the business is quite interesting. The management of the business does not hire any personnel based on a one time off interview session. What they do is that they conduct an interview and then they select a few successful candidates and employ them on a two months paid for probation period. During this period, the candidates are analyzed and monitored and even tested to determine how they would fare in the business. Once they pass these tests, they get to be permanently employed. To manage the growth and profitability of the business, the CEO does use financial smart assistants and software which offer the best analysis of data and provide predictions on future trends based on this data. He also seeks support and advice from the banking sector who advise him on financial matters. From the owner’s perspective, the key to success in business if to be sharp and focused on the business and to only work towards set goals and visions. In this context, he noted that he started off without a clear plan but due to shear focus and determination, he was able to correct that error and things did work out well in the long-run. The business owner stated that if he was to start all over again, he would have started the business with a clear business plan that had been properly researched. He gave the reason for this opinion to be that if he had such a plan at the start, he would have been more focused and would have made much more progress than he has now. Currently, the business is at a boom where there is no much competition and other external and internal forces that are inhibiting its growth. The market is large enough and it has not exhausted its potential yet. The demand for the product is more than the business can supply and therefore there is surplus demand which encourages the business to increase prices and make more money. However, it is important to note that there is an effect on the supply and demand curve when the prices are increased due to high demand and INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW 5 surplus demand (Roberts & Schlenkera, 013). Often, this will lead to decreased demand and the supplier will end up lowering the prices again in order to keep the clients. In consideration of the current state that the business is in I would definitely invest in the business. Chances are quite high that the business will develop into a major corporation since in the world right now people are searching for naturally grown food products. In this context, I would say that the future of this business is quite promising. INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW 6 References Roberts, M. J., & Schlenkera, W. (2013). Identifying supply and demand elasticities of agricultural commodities: Implications for the US ethanol mandate. The American Economic Review, 103(6), 2265-2295. INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW 7 Interview Questions a. What is the business name? b. Who are you to the business? c. How long have you been in business? d. Describe your business (products, jurisdiction, employees, client-base, etc.)? e. Are you a local, international or national business? f. Why did you decide to do this business? g. Is your business unique? Describe why. h. What is your business strategy? i. What is your sales and marketing strategy? j. What is the hiring process at your business? k. What are the core values of your business? l. Which financial management tools do you use in your business? m. What would you do differently if you were given a chance to start all over again? n. What would you state to be the key to success in the business context?
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Running head: INFORMATIONAL INTERVIIEW
Informational Interview

Student’s name
Number
Course
Professor

Date

1

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIIEW

2

Interviewing an Entrepreneur
The purpose of this information interview was to acquire information from a business
owner who is an entrepreneur concerning business experience, strategy, and business operations.
Play Kid Company is a global company that deals with creation and production of video games.
The owner ventured into video game business because of the gap that existed in video gaming
industry. Before starting the business, the owner took the time to analyze the nature of the
business and realized that it would be a thriving business because of the advancements in
technology. The gaming industry depends much on technology. An advanced technology would
help in upgrading the gaming features and improving services of the company.
Game making is a unique type of business, and it is less competitive. Competition is
minimum due to a shortage of entrepreneurs wanting to venture into the gaming business. Game
making involves much time to produce. It requires a lot of expertise that few people have, high
capital to start this business is another impediment. The owner believes that the company has
gained much experience to improve its skills in the game making to become a dominant game
making enterprises in the world.
The Play Kid Company operates in seven continents. The company distinguishes itself
from its competitors due to good management that focuses on the quality production of games.
The products are in line with the customer needs. The owner started the company using a loan
that was due after six years with an affordable interest. The business started slowly because the
games were new and therefore needed some time to become familiar. After laying down a
brilliant marketing strategy and implementing it, the game became widely known and loved
attributing to a complete turnaround of the business. More profits led to the availability of
finances used to advance the firm’s systems and software.

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIIEW

3

The objectives of Play Kid are to provide quality video gaming services to its customers
and giving a new gaming experience that meets that meets the contemporary society. The
company values quality and it believes that it is the ingredient that will propel its success into a
leading global video gaming company. The personnel hired by the company have to show an
element of creativity and have technological skills that will help the company realize its
objectives. The key to success is the application of modern technology to produce games.
Technology has revolutionized the game making process meeting the needs of users and
enhancing the handling of games by consumers.
If presented an opportunity to do it all again, the owner could do nothing much because
of the satisfaction he has that is accrued to the efforts put forth by him and his staff in ensuring
that the business realizes its core objectives. Currently, the company seems to do very well, and
its expansion program on course. The company enjoys high...


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